Florida State hosts miami in an interesting Saturday afternoon matchup of ACC foes that are looking to improve their positioning in the upcoming conference tournament and big dance. The Hurricanes suffered a loss at Virginia Tech back on Monday. The Seminoles also lost one day later at Duke. Both teams suffered five-point defeats and will try to avoid losing consecutive games heading into the postseason. Tipoff is set for 4:00 PM Eastern time and the matchup can be seen on ACC Network syndication, ESPN College Extra, WatchESPN, and the ESPN mobile app.
No. 25 Miami (20-9, 10-7 ACC)
The Hurricanes saw their four-game winning streak snap against Virginia Tech in a 66-61 defeat, but the increase in their stingy defense has helped them solidify a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Recent ESPN projections have them as an 8 seed in the East region. Miami has held opponents to just a 58-point average in the past five games.
Anthony Lawrence Jr. (7.2 ppg, 4 rpg) had 18 points in the loss to the Hokies, the first time he's hit double figures in the past three games. Davon Reed (15 ppg, 4.8 rpg) has nearly hit two double-doubles in the past few contests. He recorded 11 points and 9 boards against the Hokies.
No. 15 Florida State (23-7, 11-6 ACC)
Despite the Seminoles losing three of their last five games, they still find themselves clinging to a 4 seed in the West region.
Those two wins have been against the bottom feeders of the ACC and one of those losses includes a struggling Pittsburgh squad. The recent downfall for FSU has been thanks to slight defensive struggles, giving up 77 points on average in the last five games.
If the defense can't patch things up, a few of their offensive stars will need to step up.
Dwayne Bacon (16.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg) has been the most reliable, leading the team with 19 points against Duke. His only blemish in recent action was recording a goose-egg in the loss to Pittsburgh. Xavier Rathan-Mayes (10.5 ppg, 4.8 apg) has stepped up with 15 points in consecutive games, and prior to that delivered a positive passing ratio of 10 assists to 0 turnovers.
Florida State is favored by 7.5 points at home and the O/U is set at 139.5 points. The Seminoles are 16-10-2 overall against the spread this season with an 11-3-1 mark at home. Miami has won four of the last six meetings against Florida State.
